Sojourner Truth in WPA mural by Norman Carton

What it is

This is a photograph of a 1941 mural painted by Norman Carton as part of the WPA, a government arts program. The mural shows Sojourner Truth as an elderly Black woman in a head wrap and shawl, holding a paper with writing, with other figures standing behind her and a young man painting at an easel in front.

Why it matters

Truth died almost sixty years before this mural was made, so it is not a direct record of her but a later tribute created during a time when American artists were commissioned to paint historical and civic scenes. It shows how Truth was remembered and honored generations after her death.

Look closer

• Why might the artist have included a painter at an easel in the scene?
• What does the paper Truth holds suggest about how the artist wanted her remembered?
• How might a mural made in 1941 differ from an image made during Truth's own lifetime?